Margaret Thatcher Way? Residents refuse to name road after former Prime Minister - Telegraph Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Way? Residents refuse to name road after former Prime Minister Barnet council has been asking for volunteers willing to rename their road after Margaret Thatcher for a year, but no one has come forward amid fears for house prices Barnet council has been asking for volunteers willing to rename their road after Margaret Thatcher for a year, but no one has come forward Photo: Daily Telegraph Follow When council chiefs in Margaret Thatcher's former constituency asked for volunteers to rename their road after the-long serving prime minister, they might have expected a queue of willing participants. But it seems residents of Finchley, the constituency she ruled for more than 30 years, have not expressed much of an interest in living on Margaret Thatcher Way or Iron Lady Drive. Following her death more than a year ago on April 8, Conservatives in Barnet, have been trying to drum up support for the idea of naming a street after Lady Thatcher. One year on, Barnet Council has received no applications for such a name change. Richard Cornelius, council leader, said a road in one of the borough's new developments may have to be renamed after Lady Thatcher instead.

Related Articles 'My biggest mistake in politics was to listen to Mrs Thatcher' 21 Mar 2014 “It will come. We will find somewhere, but it may have to be on one of the new developments," Mr Cornelius told the Hendon and Finchley Press. "We are just waiting for an opportunity or a sensible suggestion. It may well be that a road would like to volunteer to be renamed Thatcher Way. “There must be a road full of Tories. We are looking for one to come forward.” According to the think tank New Local Government Network, naming roads after famous figures can help build "civic pride". However, some fear that renaming places after more controversial figures, such as Lady Thatcher, could have an impact on house prices. Lady Thatcher held her seat in Finchley from 1959 until 1992. Margaret Thatcher Fondly Remembered in Finchley, Her Old Constituency | TIME.com Follow @TIMEWorld Derek Phillips gave Margaret Thatcher one of her first breaks in politics.

As a member of the selection committee in the North London area of Finchley, where the young, ambitious politician was, in 1958, trying to launch her career in the British Parliament, Phillips decided that he liked what he heard from the 33-year-old research chemist and lawyer. He voted with the majority on the committee to select her as the party’s local candidate. By a narrow margin Thatcher won election to Parliament at the 1959 general election, and so began the most storied career in British government since Winston Churchill ’s retirement in 1955. Since 1958 Thatcher had been a regular and beloved presence at Finchley & Golders Green Conservative Association (known as Finchley Conservatives), even after her own retirement as a Member of Parliament in 1992, returning often to meet with supporters. But when the news broke of her death, at the age of 87, Monday afternoon, there were no tears shed by Phillips or anyone else at the Finchley Conservatives, where he is a volunteer campaigner. Weakness was not the Thatcher way. “No, no, no,” says Phillips, 80. “She wouldn’t have wanted us to be doing that.

We’re all obviously very moved and upset about it. But we’re carrying on, as would be wanted. The main thing is, if she was suffering then we wouldn’t have wanted that to go on.” (MORE: World Mourns Thatcher, ‘A Great Briton’ ) Finchley Conservatives’ office was the ground zero of support for Thatcher throughout the former Prime Minister’s time in office — and reminders of its place in British political history remain to this day. The building that houses the offices is now called Margaret Thatcher House, and the meeting room, where a huge portrait of her hangs, is called the Margaret Thatcher Room. Shortly after the news broke of Baroness Thatcher’s death, a handful of the party faithful began to gather at Margaret Thatcher House. “People are just beginning to take in the news, I assume,” says Phillips, a retired political activist who is still a member of Finchley Conservatives. “She was just a fantastic lady. Just fantastic. A wonderful Member of Parliament, and still carried on to be so when she became Prime Minister. One wondered how she would cope with the constituency when she became Prime Minister — it didn’t affect it. She looked after the constituency fantastically.

She was here for her surgeries [meetings with constituents] on a very regular basis. She attended the main social events as well. Never let us down. She was extremely important to the people of Finchley.” Thatcher was no fan of feminism, in spite of being Britain’s first and so far only female Prime Minister, but she nevertheless was an inspiration to women in the male-dominated world of British politics — including in her own constituency. (MORE: U.S. Cable Calls Margaret Thatcher ‘Frightfully English,’ ‘A Trifle Patronizing’ ) Marina Yannakoudakis was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London in June 2009, and is based at Margaret Thatcher House. Thatcher, she says, helped her overcome the anxiety she felt about joining the male-dominated world of European politics. “When I was standing as an MEP, I asked her advice, and I said, ‘How do you cope with going into a space where you have a lot of European men?’ And she said to me, ‘Marina, you just go in there and tell them how it’s done,’ in that deep voice she had that was incredible.

And I’ve found that’s worked very well for me.” (PHOTOS: Margaret Thatcher: Portrait of the Iron Lady ) If Thatcher came over sometimes as intimidating in her sense of certainty, Yannakoudakis also remembers a politician with a personal touch. “Everyone’s devastated here,” she says. “But it’s more than that, it’s almost like the soul has been hit, in many ways. She was a great champion of Conservative principles, down-to-earth principles. And a great supporter of her Association, she never forgot her Association. I come across people all the time, people who worked with and people who knew her, through Association events, and they always say she knew peoples’ names, she knew their children. If they’d been through something, she’d ask about it.” How would Yannakoudakis respond to those less enthusiastic about the work done by Thatcher — a highly divisive figure whose economic reforms often provoked intense hostility? “I’d like to remind them of what the U.K. was going through at the time,” she says. “The three-day week, the strikes and people not knowing from one day to the next where they stood. And you needed someone to be strong and take a strong lead, and that was what she did.

The strength of the woman can never be underestimated, and has to be respected.” Finchley Conservatives will set up their condolence book soon, says Yannakoudakis. “We’ll probably have an exhibition of memorabilia. We’ve obviously got a massive library of pictures here. At this stage it’s probably a bit early to know what we’ll be arranging. But her legacy will live on,” she says. Jill Summers, chairwoman of Finchley Conservatives, agrees that Thatcher’s influence continues to be felt at the Finchley office. “She’s a huge part of the spirit of this place, and the people who are here at the moment,” she says. “She was a very caring person, beneath this very tough political exterior, a very soft center.” Margaret Thatcher's Finchley Constituency Could Fall To Labour At The General Election | The Huffington Post Margaret Thatcher's Finchley Constituency Could Fall To Labour At The General Election 14/04/2015 16:36 | Updated 14 April 2015 Paul Vale Front Page Editor, The Huffington Post The Iron Lady's old constituency could fall into enemy hands, according to a poll of Conservative-held marginals .

The Finchley and Golders Green seat is just one of ten that could switch to Labour, with a survey showing the Tories trailing or tied with the opposition in 5 . The poll by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft gives Labour a two-point advantage over the Conservatives in Finchley and Golders Green -- still well within the margin of error. Lawyer Sarah Sackman is the Labour candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, hoping to remove Tory incumbent Mike Freer. The poll also puts Labour three points ahead in Crewe and Nantwich, which the Conservatives took from Labour in a by-election in 2008, and two points ahead in Milton Keynes South. Thatcher and her husband Denis waves to supporters after she retained her Parliamentary seat of Finchley in North London, Friday, May 4, 1979 There were ties in Rossendale and Darwen -- where the Tory vote was unchanged from the 2010 general election but Labour's Will Straw, son of former Labour minister Jack, is up 10 points -- and South Ribble.

The Conservatives are ahead in the other five seats surveyed: Cleethorpes, where they have a narrow two-point advantage, Dover, Dudley South, Harlow, and North East Somerset, where Jacob Rees-Mogg is 16 points clear of Labour. The findings will hearten Labour amid a welter of contradictory polling evidence which suggests that so far neither of the two main parties has been able to make a decisive breakthrough in the election battle. On Tuesday, David Cameron held out the prospect of free childcare for working families and a " tax free minimum wage " as he declared the Conservatives were the "real party of working people". Unveiling the Conservative election manifesto, the Prime Minister said that after the years of recession and austerity the "good life" was finally at hand as he urged voters not to allow Labour to return the country to "square one". He said that if the Tories were returned to power after polling day on May 7 they would double the existing free childcare provision for three and four-year-olds saving parents £5,000 a year. A Conservative government would also legislate to ensure no-one on the minimum wage would pay income tax - automatically uprating personal allowances in line with increases to the basic rate of pay.

David Cameron unveils his party's general election manifesto in Swindon, southern England, on April 14, 2015 Together with the extension of Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme to 1.3 million housing association tenants - announced overnight - and the promise to lift family homes worth over £1 million out of inheritance tax, they formed the centrepiece of the Conservatives' pitch to voters. "At the heart of this manifesto is a simple proposition," Cameron said at the launch in Swindon, Wiltshire. "We are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life." Lord Ashcroft Polls interviewed between 1,000 and 1,002 adults in each constituency by telephone between April 2 and 11. SEE ALSO: Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister, shopping in a Finchley supermarket, London, part of her constituency. Sydney O'Meara via Getty Images Newly elected MP for Finchley and future British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher celebrated her victory with her 21 year-old son Mark, 11th October 1974. ASSOCIATED PRESS Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative M.P.

for Finchley and Friern Barnet, is shown Nov. 1959 at her Farnborough, Kent, England, home with her twins, Mark and Carol, aged six. ASSOCIATED PRESS British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher crouches down to get an eye level view of one of the displays when she visited a supermarket at Finchley in north London on Saturday, May 22, 1983. AP Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, Barnet, Finchley MP who believes in stocking up her larder shelves, places an empty shopping basket in the boot of her car, parked outside the House of Commons, Westminster in England on the eve of the Conservative party's leadership election on Feb. 3, 1975. ASSOCIATED PRESS Margaret Thatcher, who succeeds Sir Edward Boyle as spokesman on Education in the Tory Shadow Cabinet, is shown at the Houses of Parliament, Oct. 22, 1969. ASSOCIATED PRESS The lady in red chiffon is Conservative Party leader, Margaret Thatcher at her London home, Feb. 1, 1976, prior to leaving for her meeting with constituents at Barnet, Finchley.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Tory leader Margaret Thatcher holding up five one-pound notes during a speech on April 30, 1976 at the Conservative headquarters in her Finchley, North London, constituency. ASSOCIATED PRESS A library picture taken of Conservative Party leader Mrs. Margaret Thatcher in a jubilant mood outside her Chelsea, London, home in November 1976, after Tory victories in by-elections at two former Labour strongholds â Workington and Walsall North. ASSOCIATED PRESS Mrs. Margaret Thatcher and her husband Denis, at The Town Hall in London's Hendon, Friday, May 4, 1979 where she heard she had been re-elected at Finchley with a big increase in majority. AP Conservative Party leader Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, wearing a fire chief's helmet during a visit to the London Fire Brigade's Finchley fire station in London, in October 1979. Related on HuffPost: Margaret Thatcher: A life in pictures - BBC News BBC News Margaret Thatcher: A life in pictures 9 April 2013 Read more about sharing.

Close share panel Margaret Thatcher was British prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and one of the dominant political figures of 20th Century Britain. Baroness Thatcher has died after suffering a stroke while staying at the Ritz hotel in central London. Books of condolence have been opened including at her former constituency office in Finchley, north London, and in her home town of Grantham. British newspapers have devoted pages of coverage reflecting on the life of Baroness Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher was British prime minister from 1979-90. She was born Margaret Hilda Roberts in Grantham, Lincolnshire, in 1925, the daughter of a local grocer. In 1951 she married a divorced businessman, Denis Thatcher, and began studying for the bar exams, qualifying as a barrister in 1953, the year in which her twins Mark and Carol were born. Thatcher is pictured here talking to a chimney sweep in Dartford while campaigning in 1951. She lost on that occasion, but finally entered Parliament in 1959 having won the safe Conservative seat of Finchley.

Mrs Thatcher entered Downing Street in 1979 as Britain's first female prime minister, promising that the Conservatives would cut income tax, reduce public expenditure, make it easier for people to buy their own homes and curb the power of the unions. In office she soon cultivated a tough image as "the Iron Lady". Her tough reputation was enhanced by military action against Argentina over the Falkland Islands. She survived violence closer to home. In 1984 the IRA blew up the Brighton hotel where she was staying during the Conservative party conference. The blast sent a chimney crashing down through a column of rooms, killing five people. Mrs Thatcher formed a special relationship with US President Ronald Reagan - her political soulmate. On his death she described Mr Reagan as a great American who "won the Cold War". Her premiership began to unravel when she caused splits in the Tory party over Europe and the poll tax. She was ousted as leader - and hence as prime minister - by her own party in 1990. Following her defeat she returned to No 10 prior to a tearful departure in front of the world’s press.

In 2007 Baroness Thatcher became the first living ex-prime minister to be honoured with a statue in the House of Commons. Although the Tory peer suffered a series of minor strokes that affected her short-term memory, she continued to fulfil a number of public engagements. Margaret Thatcher has been called the most influential British political figure since Churchill and was one of the dominant political figures of 20th Century Britain. Margaret Thatcher - British History - HISTORY.com Margaret Thatcher A+E Networks Introduction Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), the United Kingdom’s first and thus far only female prime minister, served from 1979 until 1990. During her time in office, she reduced the influence of trade unions, privatized certain industries, scaled back public benefits and changed the terms of political debate, much like her friend and ideological ally, U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Nicknamed the “Iron Lady,” she opposed Soviet communism and fought a war to maintain control of the Falkland Islands.

The longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century, Thatcher was eventually pressured into resigning by members of her own Conservative Party Google Margaret Thatcher: The Early Years Margaret Hilda Roberts, later Margaret Thatcher, was born on October 13, 1925, in Grantham, a small town in Lincolnshire, England. Her parents, Alfred and Beatrice, were middle-class shopkeepers and devout Methodists. Alfred was also a politician, serving as a town council member for 16 years before becoming an alderman in 1943 and mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946. Did You Know? In 2007 Margaret Thatcher became the first living ex-prime minister in British history to be honored with a statue in the Houses of Parliament. It stands opposite a statue of Winston Churchill in the lobby of the House of Commons. Thatcher matriculated at Oxford University in 1943, during the height of World War II . While there she studied chemistry and joined the Oxford Union Conservative Association, becoming president of the organization in 1946. After graduation she worked as a research chemist, but her real interest was politics.

In 1950 she ran for parliament in the Labour-dominated constituency of Dartford, using the slogan “Vote Right to Keep What’s Left.” She lost that year and again in 1951, but received more votes than previous Conservative Party candidates. Margaret Thatcher Enters Parliament In December 1951 Margaret married Denis Thatcher, a wealthy businessman. Less than two years later she gave birth to twins, Carol and Mark. Meanwhile, she was studying for the bar exams, which she passed in early 1954. She then spent the next few years practicing law and looking for a winnable constituency. Thatcher ran for parliament once more in 1959—this time in the Conservative-dominated constituency of Finchley—and easily won the seat. The first bill she introduced affirmed the right of the media to cover local government meetings. Speaking about the bill in her maiden speech, she focused not on freedom of the press but instead on the need to limit wasteful government expenditures—a common theme throughout her political career. By 1961 Thatcher had accepted an invitation to become parliamentary undersecretary in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance.

She then steadily moved up the ministerial ranks, becoming secretary of state for education and science when the Conservatives retook power in 1970. The following year she was demonized by her Labour Party opponents as “Thatcher the milk snatcher” when she eliminated a free milk program for schoolchildren. Nonetheless, she was able to keep her job, and in 1975, with the Conservatives back in the opposition, she defeated former Prime Minister Edward Heath to take over leadership of the party. Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister Thatcher was now one of the most powerful women in the world. She rejected the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, who advocated deficit spending during periods of high unemployment, instead preferring the monetarist approach of Chicago economist Milton Friedman. At her first conference speech, she chastised the Labour Party on economic grounds, saying, “A man’s right to work as he will, to spend what he earns, to own property, to have the state as servant and not as master—these are the British inheritance.” Soon after, she attacked the Soviet Union as “bent on world dominance.” A Soviet army newspaper responded by calling her “the Iron Lady,” a nickname she immediately embraced.

The Conservatives, helped out by a “winter of discontent” in which numerous unions went on strike, won the 1979 election, and Thatcher became prime minister. During her first term, the government lowered direct taxes while increasing taxes on spending, sold off public housing, put in austerity measures and made other reforms, even as rising inflation and unemployment caused Thatcher’s popularity to temporarily wane. In April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a sparsely populated British colony located 300 miles from Argentina and 8,000 miles from the United Kingdom. Thatcher dispatched troops to the area. On May 2, a British submarine controversially sank an Argentine cruiser that was outside of an official exclusion zone, killing over 300 people on board. Later in the month, British troops landed near San Carlos Bay in East Falkland and, despite persistent air attacks, were able to capture the capital of Port Stanley and end the fighting. The war and an improving economy propelled Thatcher to a second term in 1983.

This time around, her government took on the trade unions, requiring them to hold a secret ballot before any work stoppage and refusing to make any concessions during a yearlong miners’ strike. In what became a key part of her legacy, Thatcher also privatized British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways, Rolls-Royce and a number of other state-owned companies. On the foreign policy front, Thatcher often found herself allied with U.S. President Ronald Reagan , whom she later described as “the supreme architect of the West’s Cold War victory.” Her relationship with her own continent’s leaders was more complicated, particularly since she believed the Europe Union should be a free-trade area rather than a political endeavor. “That such an unnecessary and irrational project as building a European superstate was ever embarked upon will seem in future years to be perhaps the greatest folly of the modern era,” she wrote in her 2002 book “Statecraft.” In Asia, meanwhile, she negotiated the eventual transfer of Hong Kong to the Chinese. In Africa she had a mixed record, facilitating the end of white minority rule in Zimbabwe but opposing sanctions against apartheid South Africa.

Margaret Thatcher’s Fall From Power After Thatcher was elected to a third term in 1987, her government lowered income tax rates to a postwar low. It also pushed through an unpopular “community charge” that was met with street protests and high levels of nonpayment. On November 14, 1990, former Defense Minister Michael Heseltine challenged her for leadership of the party, partly due to differences of opinion on the European Union. Thatcher won the first ballot but by too small of a margin for outright victory. That night, her cabinet members visited her one by one and urged her to resign. She officially stepped down on November 28 after helping to assure that John Major and not Heseltine would replace her. Thatcher remained in parliament until 1992, at which time she entered the largely ceremonial House of Lords and began to write her memoirs. Though she stopped appearing in public after suffering a series of small strokes in the early 2000s, her influence remained strong. In fact, many of her free market policies have since been adopted, not only by Conservatives, but also by Labour Party leaders like Tony Blair.

In 2011, the former prime minister was the subject of an award-winning (and controversial) biographical film, “The Iron Lady,” which depicted her political rise and fall. Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87. Tags Article on her work as an MP | Margaret Thatcher Foundation Article on her work as an MP Document type: Finchley Press, 30 September 1960 Journalist: Item listed by date of publication. Importance ranking: Autobiographical comments, Parliament, Environment, Housing, Social security and welfare, Transport "People write about many things" AND THEIR M.P. REPLIES How Mrs. Margaret Thatcher's duties are shared between her constituency and the House of Commons The "Finchley Press" has pleasure in presenting the first of a series of special articles by Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, Member of Parliament for Finchley and Friern Barnet, who since her entry into the House of Commons following the last General Election has become a national figure. Mrs. Thatcher's contributions to matters of moment began even before she took her Parliamentary seat, when she was rapidly introduced to the country by way of radio, television and the Press.

Whilst many new MP's are said to be "introduced to Parliament", in Mrs. Thatcher's case it was said with truth that "Parliament was introduced to her!" This arose from the impact of her maiden speech in which she presented the "Press Bill", a unique initiation into the House. Her sound views on a variety of topics, not only political but appealing to the mother and housewife (she is both) make her today a sought-after speaker at hundreds of events. In short, Mrs. Thatcher has put Finchley and Friern Barnet "on the map" but although her activities take her to many parts, her constituents find—by correspondence or personal interview—that she still puts their interests first. Evidence of this is revealed in the first of her articles, by the careful thought she gives to individual problems emerging from her constituency. Mrs. Thatcher writes: "It is nearly a year since I was elected to represent the people of Finchley and Friern Barnet in Parliament, and I should like to report to them through the Finchley Press about my activities on their behalf. Correspondence: A considerable part of each day is spent in dealing with constituents' correspondence.

People write about many things:— First: They ask me to raise cases with a Ministry or with the local council. In this group of letters the difficulty of finding good housing accommodation predominates. As far as Council property is concerned I have no jurisdiction over the allocation of houses or flats. This responsibility is placed by Act of Parliament upon the local authority; my function is limited to putting through an enquiry about any particular case. Second to housing difficulties are pensions. The regulations governing entitlement to retirement pensions, widows pensions and ex-Service pensions are complicated and often confusing, but are readily sorted out by the Ministry in response to a query. The hardest cases of all are those which are just on the wrong side of some borderline. For example a woman who was just under the age of 50 when her husband died is not entitled to a widow's pension after the initial few weeks of widowhood. Moreover she has to pay the full weekly contributions to National Insurance if she is to get a retirement pension at 60. I should like to see some change in these regulations. Pension problems have only a short lead over Town Planning protests, which are growing monthly.

The initial responsibility there again lies with both the local and County Councils, but Middlesex may turn down a plan approved by the local council, or vice versa. In any event an appeal lies to the Minister, and, as we have seen in the last few days, a public enquiry may be ordered before a decision is reached. Alternatively the Ministry may look into the matter without such an enquiry. When an application reaches the Appeal stage I either write to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, or sometimes seek an interview with him if an exceptional point is in issue. The official returns show that the number of appeals made to the Minister is rising annually. Last year out of 5,673, slightly more than 3 in every 10 were allowed. Questions Next in order of importance, judging by the number of letters I receive, are complaints about the running of buses and Underground rail services by London Transport. Questions cannot be asked at Question Time in the House of Commons about any of these, but the Members of Parliament can write to London Transport with a request that the complaint be investigated. Judged by experience of the past year the constituent is rarely satisfied with the reply.

At the present time repairs and developments are being carried out on some trunk roads in the Constituency and there are plans in hand for more. While these are generally welcomed by the motorist they are often fiercely criticised by those whose properties are adjacent or whose land may be affected by the scheme. This is one of the occasions when there are obviously two sides to the question and the persons against whom the decision goes are naturally aggrieved. Other letters have raised queries about the operation of the National Health Service, divorce laws, and the question of key money on entry to a flat. Means Test Secondly: People write to let me know their views on particular topics. It may be a subject that is to be debated in the House of Commons or one that has hit the headlines in the newspapers, or one that the writer feels strongly about.

For example I receive letters about the abolition of the means test on parents in connection with grants to students, apartheid in South Africa, the future of the white settler in Kenya, the liability in the event of an accident of dog owners who allow their dogs to stray on the roads, whether the cost of education should be barne in full by the Exchequer and not in part by the rates, a simplified alphabet, the Wolfenden proposals on homosexuality, noise abatement with particular reference to noisy neighbours and also motorcyclists, reform of the present intestacy laws, vice in Stepney, why certain films are passed by the Film Censor, relations between the police and public, the differing sentences imposed by magistrates courts for similar offences, drugs on the National Health Service for private patients, why legal aid makes no provision for paying the costs of the defendant who suceeds against a legally aided plaintiff, pollution of rivers and estuaries, caravan sites for holiday purposes, taxation of married women, Government grants to the Arts, etc., etc. In the past ten months I have written some 1,970 letters on behalf of constituents, taking up their cases and replying to their views.

This takes no account of the many letters I have received and answered from other parts of the country and the Commonwealth. My own Parliamentary Bill also involved over 600 letters. Personal Interview Evenings. I hold an Interview Evening at 267 Ballards Lane at least once a month, and sometimes twice. These are for constituents who want to see me about their personal problems. I start at 6.30 pm and continue until the last constituent has been seen. Usually there are at least 10 people who come in during the course of the evening, and often more. Some of these cases are most distressing, and one is often able to put the people in touch with one of the voluntary organisations who can help them. Here I must pay tribute to the Finchley and Friern Barnet Councils of Social Service who are always ready to assist. Anyone who wants to see me urgently can always do so either by 'phoning the Conservative Office at 267 Ballards Lane (HIL 4292) for an appointment, or my Secretary at the House of Commons (WHI 6240, Ext. 579).

People who work in London often prefer to come to the House of Commons on their way home. House of Commons: When Parliament is in session the daily round is very busy. Committees to consider Bills meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A new Committee is appointed to deal with each Bill. I have been on four such Committees in addition to my own Private Member's Bill Committee, of which I was in charge. Question Time in the House begins at 2.30 pm and lasts for an hour, and general debate follows from about 3.30 pm until the day's business is concluded—sometimes as early as 10.30 p.m. but sometimes very late indeed. The business of the week is not announced until the previous Thursday so we do not know very far in advance which Bill is to be brought forward or issue debated. Duty Visitors to the Galleries are often puzzled why so few Members are present in the Chamber during the middle of Debates. It is because so many other things are going on at the same time. A series of Committees meets each evening between 4–7 p.m.

They may be addressed by well-known men and women visiting this country. For example, Mr. Menzies, the Australian Prime Minister, spoke to one such meeting, and Mr. Mboya, Dr. Hastings Banda to others. Alternatively Ministers of the Crown may come to hear Members' views on a subject about which legislation is going to be introduced or about which a Royal Commission has reported. Or again scientists may come to explain the technicalities of projects upon which Government money is being spent. One is also expected to attend and speak at a large number of functions in the Constituency, and here a conflict of duty sometimes arises. I like to be about the Constituency as often as possible, but have sometimes had to leave an important Debate to do so. On one such occasion I received a sharply critical letter asking why I had not voted on a particular issue! Tour of Homes When the House is not sitting one has to get through an accumulation of reading matter, to spend more time in the Constituency and to pursue more thoroughly topics which have been raised in letters. In a week or two's time I hope to do a tour of the homes of people who have written to me about rent increases.

I am at present trying to gather as much information as possible in preparation for the debate which is to take place when the House reassembles. I should like to have the following facts about any particular rent increase: (a) The rent and rates in 1939. (b) The rent and rates immediately after the Rent Act. 1957. (c) The rateable value now—this is on the Rate Demand Note. (d) Proposed new rent, the length of the new lease and any onerous terms thereunder; whether inclusive or exclusive of rates. (e) Whether any similar property in the vicinity has been sold (either leasehold or freehold) on the open market recently and what price it fetched. From time to time I shall be writing further articles in the Finchley Press devoted to matters exciting public interest in the Constituency. Copyright © Margaret Thatcher Foundation 2017. All Rights Reserved. Page generated in 0.2734 seconds.

BBC - Archive - Margaret Thatcher: From MP to PM - General Election '79 | Results: Thatcher Wins Seat Margaret Thatcher: From MP to PM | Mrs Thatcher's journey from Finchley to Downing Street General Election '79 | Results: Thatcher Wins Seat The results come in from Margaret Thatcher's Finchley constituency. FIRST BROADCAST | 04 May 1979 DURATION | 4 minutes 40 seconds FIRSTBROADCAST 1979 Synopsis Margaret Thatcher increases her majority and is re-elected as MP for Finchley. By the time the results are declared, she knows it is likely that her party has won, making her the first female Prime Minister of Britain, and she thanks the people of Finchley for giving her courage for the future. Did you know? Margaret Thatcher was MP for Finchley from 1959 to 1992, after which she became a Peer in the House of Lords. The constituency of Finchley was abolished in 1997, when it became part of Finchley and Golders Green. Contributors Labour success in Thatcher's old constituency? - YouTube Labour success in Thatcher's old constituency? Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist.

Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 17, 2015 Michael Crick reports from Finchley, Margaret Thatcher's old seat, where it has been predicted Labour could take the seat back from the Conservatives. Election 2015 live blog: Category In Thatcher's Constituency, a Sense of Betrayal - in Labor Areas, Utter Relief - NYTimes.com In Thatcher's Constituency, a Sense of Betrayal; in Labor Areas, Utter Relief By CRAIG R. WHITNEY, Special to The New York Times Published: November 26, 1990 LONDON, Nov. 25— In Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's North London constituency of Finchley, the roof fell in today on the local Conservative Party headquarters. "It's been one of those weeks," said Trevor Renouf, adding that Thursday, when Mrs.

Thatcher announced her resignation, had been "a very sad day," and that the ceilings had apparently collapsed because of "a defect." But in the solid Labor constituency of Holborn and St. Pancras, a few stops on the Underground closer to town, Jonathan McCabe, of Gloucester Crescent, was on top of the world. "I think a lot of people were very, very delighted," he said. "I don't think anybody feels sorry for her." So it has been across Britain since Mrs. Thatcher resigned in the face of a growing challenge to her leadership by members of her own Conservative Party. Wide Range of Feelings Shock and anger among her supporters is mixed with bitterness toward Michael Heseltine, the former Defense Secretary, who brought her down and hopes to replace her when the 372 Conservative members of Parliament pick a new leader this week. Shock and delight in opposition ranks is mixed with anxiety that Mr. Heseltine or either of his two rivals, Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd or the Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Major, could deprive the Labor Party of the chance to return to power in the next general election, sometime before the middle of 1992.

Three days after the resignation, shock is still the best word to describe the mood in a country and a city divided by 11 1/2 years of Thatcher policies, and a decade of labor strife before that. Walk down the streets in Finchley, with their modest middle-class single-family homes, rose gardens and garages, and ask the people you run into what they feel, and most of them say they are dismayed and outraged that their local member of Parliament, Mrs. Thatcher, has been betrayed. Churchill Comparison "She's the finest Prime Minister we've had since Winston Churchill," said A. Forbes Ferguson, 88 years old, who said Mrs. Thatcher had visited him on his 80th birthday. "Not only that, she's a world leader, too. It cut me to the heart. It's the biggest political assassination in modern times." Mr. Ferguson called Sir Geoffrey Howe the principal assassin. Sir Geoffrey, Mrs. Thatcher's nominal deputy, resigned on Nov. 1 and denounced her and her combative anti-European policies in Parliament the day before Mr. Heseltine announced his bid for the party leadership. "When Howe made his speech, it completely changed things," Mr. Ferguson said.

Sir Geoffrey and Mrs. Thatcher's former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, endorsed Mr. Heseltine's candidacy on Saturday, and David Hunt, the Secretary of State for Wales, today became the first member of Mrs. Thatcher's Cabinet to support him publicly. "All the time he's been scheming to get her out," Mr. Ferguson said of Mr. Heseltine. "He'll beat the other two, who are all right, but both are nondescript." A rash of public opinion polls published in the Sunday newspapers today all said that with Mr. Heseltine as party leader, the Conservatives could beat Labor in a general election by a margin of 6 to 13 percentage points. Most said that Mr. Major would give the Conservatives a somewhat smaller advantage, and that Mr. Hurd would give them only a slight edge or none at all. Mr. Heseltine's backers predict he will win a majority -- at least 187 votes -- when the 372 Conservative members of Parliament vote on Tuesday in the second round of the contest.

If no one gets a majority, the winner will emerge from a third ballot on Thursday, when the members will have to name their second preferences. The second-choice votes of the supporters of the candidate who comes in last will be added to the totals of the others to determine the winner. In the first ballot last Tuesday, Mr. Heseltine received 152 votes and Mrs. Thatcher got 204, a majority but 4 short of the 56-vote edge she needed to knock him out of the contest under the rules. She withdrew after many Cabinet ministers told her that Mr. Heseltine was gaining momentum for the second round, when a simple majority would suffice. Mr. Hurd, who has the support of six other Cabinet members, predicted today that there would be a third ballot and that he would win. Mr. Major made no predictions, but his campaign manager, Treasury Secretary Norman Lamont, said he had more than 150 committed votes. Home Secretary David Waddington today became the seventh member of Mrs. Thatcher's Cabinet to support Mr. Major, who is also believed to be Mrs. Thatcher's favorite.

Popular Will Doesn't Dictate Since the election of the next Prime Minister is entirely out of their hands, ordinary voters can only watch and, in some cases, weep. "I was very upset about it," said Pamela Taylor, 58, in Finchley. "I wrote to her on Thursday and said I was sorry and hoped she would stay on with us." But on the grittier streets of Camden Town, the sooty-brick heart of the Socialist bastion of Holborn and St. Pancras, the people have quite different views. "I think it's quite a relief," said Andrew Brown, 21. "I thought resigning was the best thing she could do for the country." He said he would vote for Labor when it came time for the general election, but that if Mr. Heseltine won the Conservative leadership, he did not think Labor would win. Duncan Telford, 24, a camera-store clerk on Camden High Street, said: "I don't think she was good for the country, morally.

I was only 13 or 14 when she was first elected, and there's been a whole generation of people who've grown up knowing no one else." Mary Gillie said: "I'm firmly anti-Thatcher, and I'm glad she's gone. I think her successor should be Michael Heseltine, but I think it's wide open and I honestly don't know." Photo: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain and her husband, Denis, after attending a church service yesterday in Butlers Cross. (Associated Press) Labour poll lead in Thatcher's old seat 'due to Passover' - Telegraph General election 2015 Labour poll lead in Thatcher's old seat 'due to Passover' Conservative candidate Mike Freer suggests poll that put Labour ahead was 'flawed' as it was conducted during Jewish holy festival Margaret Thatcher held the predecessor seat of Finchley Follow A poll that suggested Labour would win Margaret Thatcher's old constituency was flawed because it was conducted during Passover, the Conservative defending the seat has said. Mike Freer said that many Jewish voters who might have backed the Conservatives in Finchley and Golders Green would have been observing the festival so not have taken part in the poll by Lord Ashcroft .

The poll of the seat, which covers most of Mrs Thatcher's old Finchley constituency, put Labour on 43 points ahead of the Conservatives on 41. It was released on Tuesday but conducted between 7 and 11 April, during Passover. Mr Freer said: "Many people will have gone away for Passover or will be observing Passover so that’s a factor that needs to be borne in mind. " Miliband and Labour are not popular amongst the Jewish community so when you have constituency that’s 22 per cent Jewish, to be telephoning and polling on Friday and Saturday of Passover would be a bit of a faux pas. "They wouldn’t be answering the phone, they may not even be here; many people will travel or they are very observant. The 9th and 10th especially are the two high holy days. “I think we need to treat it with caution. It’s true to say it reflects Labour has thrown resources at the seats and it reflects a tightening of race on London, but is it an accurate reflection of voting intention in Finchley and Golders Green?

I think that needs a little pinch of salt." Mr Freer said the Passover timing of the poll was one of "a couple of flaws" with the research. The raw data also suggested the poll consulted a disproportionately high number of people who voted Labour in 2010 compared with the result in the seat, he said. But he said that the contest would be a close one. "I think we will pull through but it’s a tight fight as we are finding in London," he said. He suggested the Conservatives may now consider devoting more resources to defending the Finchley & Golders Green, which is not one of the Conservatives' "40-40" priority seats. Mr Freer said: "[The poll] reflects that Labour are throwing resources at Finchley and Golders Green. We are fighting different battles in that I am not a 40-40 seat, I’m a standalone seat and I have to work with my own resources whereas Labour are targeting the seat so the Labour candidate is getting a lot of mutual aid.

“Labour need a 6.3 per cent swing to get this seat and there’s nothing hitherto that would suggest they’re getting a 6.3 per cent swing in this seat or even elsewhere. A majority of just under 6,000 would not normally give cause for concern." But he added: “The party will always review its strategy, the bottom line is if Labour are throwing resources into Finchley and Golders Green and I’m a standalone seat the party will review that strategy." Lord Ashcroft noted that the two point Labour lead in the seat was "well within the margin of error". Mrs Thatcher was elected as MP for Finchley in 1959 and served until 1992 when she was succeeded by fellow Conservative Hartley Booth. In 1997 Finchley constituency was replaced by Finchley and Golders Green, which was won by Labour's Rudi Vis in 1997. He held it until it was won by Mike Freer in 2010.

Question: What was Margaret Thatcher’s constituency?
Answer: FINCHLEY